Witness slips stack up as Illinois House committee set to debate more gun restrictions Monday

[December 09, 2022]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Efforts in Illinois to ban semi-automatic weapons and certain magazines, and restrict who can buy guns to 21 and older, could come sooner than expected.

Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he supports banning certain weapons and magazines. He expects state Rep. Bob Morgan’s bill, which also would ban magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds, will be passed within the next six months.

“It’s important that we do it as fast as possible, there’s no doubt, but I just want to be clear, our aim is to have it done within the first half of the year,” Pritzker said.

Morgan, D-Deerfield, said Thursday he aims to pass it even sooner.

“This is the 102nd General Assembly which ends on Jan. 10, and everything that I’ve done and everything that I will be doing will be focused on trying to pass the bill by then,” Morgan told WMAY.

House Bill 5855 will be heard at 11 a.m. Monday in a House committee. As of Thursday, witness slips for that hearing show 7,300 slips in support and more than 13,400 in opposition.

The Catholic Conference of Illinois said in a statement Thursday it supports “a total ban” on semi-automatic guns and limitations on “civilian access to high-capacity weapons and ammunition magazines.”

“We now call on the members of the Illinois General Assembly to ban these deadly weapons in our state, as a means of protecting the common good and preserving life and peace in our communities,” the group said.

If the bill is enacted, opponents say they plan to file a lawsuit immediately.

The Illinois State Rifle Association said, among other things, the bill bans over 100 types of common rifles, pistols and shotguns that many people own, forces a firearms registry and turns anyone owning certain magazines into a felon once the bill is signed by the governor.

“There is no part of HB5855 we think is constitutional,” ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson said in a statement.

Morgan expects significant debate on his bill.

“I think we’re going to have a robust conversation in the coming weeks to get some good feedback on it, but I’m going to work as hard as I possibly can to pass these laws to make sure that no other community goes through what we have here in Highland Park,” he said.

Morgan represents the district where on July 4 of this year, a suspect used a semi-automatic rifle to kill seven people and injure dozens of others during an Independence Day parade.

Dan Eldridge with Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois and others opposed to more gun control say Illinois State Police had the tools to keep the Highland Park shooting suspect from purchasing guns. The suspect applied for and received from ISP a state-issued Firearm Owner’s Identification Card in 2019. The agency didn’t follow up on a clear and present danger report local police issued on the suspect earlier that year.

State police have since tightened up their rules, saying they now have broader use of clear and present danger reports on individuals who may apply for a FOID card.

Eldridge said turning law-abiding gun owners into criminals overnight isn’t the answer.

“And when we step back and look at these high profile mass killings, you’ll see that the perpetrators, the violent offenders have an awful lot in common with each other, but absolutely nothing in common with law abiding gun owners,” Eldridge told The Center Square.

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.